Hand grenade gun adapter



klm 239 3945- H. J. FANGER HAND GRENADE GUN ADAPTER Filed May 25, 1942 Figa@ IN V EN TOR.

HERMA/V J FNGEE A TTOENE-Y.

Patented Jan. 23, 1945 1.,-UNITED STTEf-S PATENTV OFFIEE E HANDYGRENADEGUN ADAPTER Herman: J: Fangen-g' Piedmont, Calif. application May 25, 1942, seriaiNo. 444,307

' 7 Claims.

This invention relates to devices or adapters :to adapt an ordinary type of Lhandgrenade for i fitting into a mortar` type of,. or muzzle loading gun, soV that it'` may be fired .fromthe gun-in stead of being thrown by'handpand the-objects ofthe invention comprise improvements in such ldevices whereby theywill-` hold theiexp'elling -car tridge iirmly in place over-the-frings ping-the Other features and advantages of the invention-l will appear in the followingv-description andAI aci companying drawing.

Inthe drawing- Fig. 1 is a substantially full size-longitudinal 'cross section taken through a gun barrel 'with my special adapter with grenade-rand' ejection cartridge within the. barrel as if just droppedl therein and on the vway down to'the bottom orh'ring chamber.

Fig. 2 is a bottom .view of theadaptersasfseen from the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. y

Fig.'3 is a plan view of the adapter as--seen from the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

v, Fig. 4 isl a verticalv cross section 'oftheadapter but showing a modification in thelengthof s'kirtf Y and spring retaining detents; which lock the vadapter in place in the firing. chamber.

Briefly described the inventionfcomprises an inverted sheet metal cup I with a central down- Y `wardly extending tube 2 to hold Vthe expelling cartridge 3, and an upwardlyiextending set of spring, arms 4 to receive vand hold the-'grenade 5,

1 thelower rim of the `inverted cup is formedwith extending spring detents or legs 6 with engaging vlugs 'I or humps which engage under an annular,

. shoulder 8 formed withintheflower end ofthe firing chamber of the gun to lock the adapter in place with its cartridge cap'aligned.l overy the ringpin Stof the gun I0.' IThe construction vof the adapteris suchthatwhenthecartridge is red to eject 'the adapted with its grenadawthe f shock of the exploding cartridge fwillwarpithe central portion -I I of the bottom II ofthe inverted sheet metal cup I and thereby force-the spring arms 4.outwardly to'tend tolrelease the 50 a grenade as soon as the adapter is outof the'barrel I2 of the gun, so that the grenade will bef-free to ,travelialone withoutthe' adapter.

In thedrawing the grenade 5 is'of'- ordinary well:.knowri` constructiondwith Aa verticallyffandf f (Cl.f102-'65.2)

horizontally scored or-groove weakened body and into'one of the-horizontal grooves i I3 offwhich the inwardly bent lips I4 of arms 4 spring to retain the grenade onthe adapten Butbefore inserting the grenade and adapterfintol-thefopen ended barrel of the gun, or preferably after-the handle or firing lever I5 is partially 'within the gun barrel, the grenade safety pin is withdrawn from holeI so that when the'gunis-red vand the grenade `leaves the gun its lever willly out under the force of itsl spring vIlv andl'start'the grenade fuse in the usual way.

The spring legs 6 of the cup may bed-ntegral V@with the cup wall and are preferably fvertically split as at I8 to Ymakevthem more resilient;-and rare-provided with outwardly projecting rounded J buttons or Alugs 'I which 'will lock unde'rfthe .special ring chamber shoulder 8 yet will-spring inwardly again to-release the `adapter in yresponse to a superior force applied to remove'the adapter outwardly either asthe force ofA the-'exploding cartridge-3 or by jouncing the gun in inverted .position to dislodge the adapter with its grenade. The cartridge 3 is an ordinary shotgunishell,

.preferably with the usual powder chargebut .without shot, tho it will work even with shotin it,

Vand thetube 2 in whichthe cartridgeis-held is centrally positioned andrigidly braced by'several spider arms I9 flanged-over at their ends as at 20 and welded to thevcup wall-and-for'rned with confronting curved portions ZIembracing the tube 2 and welded or otherwisesecuredtheref to.

l The 'spider arms arespaced a distance Xbelow the bottom of the cup to provide a free yannular portion of the cup wall which will bulge" outf Ward by the pressure of exploding cartridge gases to instantly effect a sealing lit within the 'gun barrel before any appreciable leakage oipressure can take placeit being understood that originally the cup must be a fairly easyl sliding t in the gun barrel in order to permit its'easy insertion when loading the gun.

When the' 'assembly is at the bottom of the barrel the cartridge head seats upon a central `hub or base 22 and the adjacent bottom of the firing chamber is curved as at 23 to form an' annular concave ring which deflects the force of the explosion upwardly and convergingly into the in- 'verted adapter cup.

Inregard to the inwardly projectingv locking u shoulder 8 this preferably extends slightly withinthe diameter of the bore ofthe gun 'barrel' I2 as shown. The-barrel I2 isV 'shownthreaded to sarthe' '-ring chamber portion I0' of thel gun 'as' at 24, but may be integral. The mechanism for operating the lringpin 9 is not shown, nor is the gun mounting, as apart from the cooperating formation of the ring chamber with its adapter retaining shoulder 8, it has no bearing on the present invention.

On the upper end Il of the cup is a revolvable ring or disk 25 centrally bored as at 25 and centered over a flat boss l I struck up from the cup bottom or end wall Il, and which flat boss is further struck up with a centering tit 21 which enters a centering opening in the center of the plate portion 4 which joins the arms 4 and from which they radiate. This plate portion 4 of the arms is spot welded in a ring at 28 about the centering tit 21 as indicated in Fig. 4, and as the metal is somewhat thinner in portion Il it will bulge slightly upward upon firing the cartridge, and force the arms 4 outward tending to release the grenade, as dotted at 4 in Fig. 4, but which release takes effect after the grenade and adapter have left the gun, and the arms are free of confinement by the gun barrel.

Disk 25 is provided with two arcuate rows of varying size holes 29 which may variously be brought in alignment with a couple of large holes 30 in the end wall of the cup, by revolving the disk, or the latter hole may be entirely closed by further revolving of the disk, all so as to form a controlled pressure leakage for the cartridge explosion gases, and thereby determine the trajectory or range of the grenade at a given angle of the gun.

Instead of forming the detent legs 8 integral with the sides of the cup, the cup wall l may be shorter and terminate straight across as shown at I of Fig. 4 and the spring legs may be slightly arcuate strips 6 of metal extending freely up inside the cup and bent over at their upper ends as at 3| and suitably secured to the cup end wall or bottom Il as by spot welding.

From the above description the operation of the invention will be clear and require no further elucidation, for it is manifest that a soldier need but press a grenade intothe group of adapter arms 4, insert a shot gun cartridge into the tube 2, pull out the grenade safety pin While holding its ring lever or handle down, drop the assemblage down the barrel ofthe gun to have it lock in place by means of the spring retainers 'l cooperating with annular shoulder 8 of the ring chamber, and pull the trigger.

Having thus described my invention and the manner of its use what I claim in the present application is:

1. A gun adapter for a grenade comprising a cylindrical sheet metal cup of a size to be slidable within the bore of the gun, resilient means for frictionally holding a grenade at the closed end of the cup substantially aligned with the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a cartridge with its percussion cap directed outwardly, and a plurality of resilient extensions around the edge of the cup provided with laterally projecting portions arranged to irictionally engage complementary formed means on the inner wall of the ring chamber of the gun, when the adapter is seated in ring position, the arrangement being such thaty the resilient extensions will spring inwardly to release the frictional engagement of the parts when the gun is fired.

2. A gun adapter for a grenade comprising a cylindrical sheet metal cup of a size exteriorly to be a slidable fit within the bore of the gun, resilient means for frictionally holding a grenade at the closed end of the cup substantially aligned with the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a cartridge with its percussion cap directed outwardly, and a plurality of resilient extensions around the edge of the cup arranged to frictionally engage the inner wall of the ring chamber of the gun, the means for holding the cartridge including a tubular member of a size to receive the cartridge axially disposed within the cup in a manner to provide a substantial space between the inner end of the cartridge and the bottom of the cup so that the explosion gases of the cartridge may freely act upon the inner exposed wall of the sheet metal cup adjacent its bottom to expand the same and seal the cup against the bore of the gun, and spider arms bracing said tube to the inner wall of the cup, said spider arms spaced outward from the bottom of the cup to maintain the remainder of the wall of the sheet metal cup free and clear for expanding.

3. A gun adapter for a grenade comprising a cylindrical sheet metal cup of a size exteriorly to be a slidable iit Within the bore of the gun, resilient means for frictionally holding a grenade at the closed end of the Icup substantially aligned with the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a. cartridge With its percussion cap di rected outwardly, and a plurality of resilient extensions around the edge of the cup arranged to frictionally engage the inner wall of the firing chamber of the gun, said resilient extensions around the edge of the cup being separate strips of metal passing into the cup adjacent the inner surface of the Wall of the cup and secured to the cup at their inner ends.

4. A gun adapter for a grenade comprising a Icylindrical sheet metal cup of a size to slide within the bore of a gun, means for holding a grenade at the closed end of the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a cartridge with its percussion cap directed outwardly, and bendable means associated with the outer end of the cup arranged and adapted to be bent by the explosion gas pressure of the cartridge when the gun is red to release said means for holding a grenade.

5. A gun adapted for a grenade comprising an inverted cylindrical sheet metal cup of a size to slide Within the bore of a gun, a plurality'of spring arms projecting from the outer bottom of the cup of a length to extend a distance over the outer wall of a grenade and arranged to embrace and hold the grenade at the outer side of the closed end of the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a cartridge with its percussion cap directed downwardly, and means associated with the closed end of the cup arranged and adapted to be acted upon by the explosion gas pressure of the cartridge when the gun is fired to spread and release said arms for holding a grenade.

6. A gun adapter for a grenade comprising a cylindrical sheet metal cup of a size exteriorly to be a slidable fit within the bore of the gun, resilient means for frictionally holding a grenade at the closed end of the cup substantially aligned with the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a cartridge with its percussion cap directed outwardly, and a plurality of resilient extensions around the edge of the cup arranged to frictionally engage the inner wall of the firing chamber of the gun, a circular shutter revolvably arranged on the closed end of the cup provided with through openings adapted` to coincide more or less with an opening in the end of the cup to control by-passing of explosion gases.

'7. A gun adapter for a grenade comprising a cylindrical sheet metal cup of a size exteriorly to be a slidable t within the bore of the gun, resilient means for frictionally holding a grenade at the closed end of the cup substantially aligned with the cup, means at the inside of the cup for holding a cartridge with its percussion cap directed outwardly, and a, plurality of resilient extensions around the edge of the cup arranged to frictionally engage the inner wall of the ring chamber of the gun, said resilient extensions being each split vertically and formed with an outwardly 'extending hump adapted to engage in a complementarily formed recess in the ringl chamber of the gun.

HERMAN J. FANGER. 

